This invention relates to label holders for shelving used to display merchandise. In particular, the a label channel for displaying pricing and other information on the front face of a shelf.
It is important to clearly display pricing and other information directly adjacent to items for sale at retail. In wide use are channels which are integral with or attached to the front face of a shelving unit. The channels typically have U-shaped ends into which the edges of a replaceable paper or cardboard label may be inserted. It is not uncommon, particularly in supermarkets where a wide variety of products are sold, for spillage to occur on shelving where items are displayed. For example, liquid and powdered productss are frequently packaged such that small amounts of the packaged material escapes the package and are deposited on the horizontal surface of the shelving upon which the packages are placed for sale. As the containers are removed by purchasers, the residual spilled material which has escaped the containers migrates into the label channels on the front of the shelving.
When such material makes its way into the channels where labels are to be placed, the channel may become clogged and difficult to use. The channels must, therefore, be cleaned thoroughly and frequently. Because of the small width of the channels into which the pricing information is placed, cleaning is a difficult and tedious process. Alternatively, the label channel may be removable from, rather than integral with, the shelving and the label channel may be replaced when it becomes unusable due to clogging of the channel with spilled material. This alternative can become expensive, depending on the frequency with which the label channels are replaced.
Even if the label channel does not become clogged and unusable itself, spilled material, particularly spilled liquid products, can stain or make soggy the labels held in a label channel. This kind of situation can render a product display unsightly and unattractive to the purchaser.
Therefore, there is a need for a label channel which reduces the opportunity for spilled material to make its way into and clog a label channel. There is also a need for a label channel which protects the pricing information with a cover which provides ready access to the label channel so that pricing information may be moved to a different position or replaced. The label channel of the present invention reduces the tendency for material spilled on a shelving unit to degrade the functionality of the label channel and protects the pricing information contained in the label channel from being rendered unsightly by spilled material.
The label channel of the present invention includes a base panel with opposing upper and lower U-shaped ends. A front panel is hingedly connected to the upper U-shaped end. The front panel is shaped and sized to protect pricing information held by the U-shaped ends of the label channel. The hinge by which the front panel is connected to the upper U-shaped end tends to hold the front panel in a position generally parallel to the base panel. The invention further includes a latch on the lower end of the front panel which snaps into holding engagement with an extension of the lower U-shaped end of the label channel. The latch on the lower end of the front panel includes a larger radius J-portion with a smaller radius bead which fits into a space adjacent to the underside of the lower U-shaped end of the label channel.
The label channel of the present invention preferably includes a way of attaching the label channel to the front face of a shelving unit. One such way of attaching the label channel is through the use of a strip of double-sided adhesive with a removable cover sheet. Alternatively, the label channel may be extruded in such a way that flanges are formed which cooperate with integral formations on the front face of a shelving unit. Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: